Prince-Bishopric of Minden Hochstift Minden (German) | |||||||||
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| 1180–1648 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
.svg) Map of part of theLower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle in 1560, Prince-Bishopric of Minden highlighted in red | |||||||||
| Status | Prince-Bishopric | ||||||||
| Capital | Minden | ||||||||
| Common languages | Northern Low Saxon | ||||||||
| Government | Ecclesiastical principality | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Founded byCharlemagne | 803 | ||||||||
• GainedReichsfreiheit | 1180 | ||||||||
• PossessedHamelin | 1259–77 | ||||||||
| 1648 | |||||||||
• Ceded toWestphalia | 1807–14 | ||||||||
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ThePrince-Bishopric of Minden (German:Fürstbistum Minden; Bistum Minden; Hochstift Minden; Stift Minden) was anecclesiastical principality of theHoly Roman Empire. It was progressively secularized following the Protestant Reformation when it came under the rule of Protestant rulers, and by thePeace of Westphalia of 1648 given to Brandenburg as the Principality of Minden. It must not be confused with the Roman Catholic diocese of Minden, which was larger, and over which the prince-bishop exercised spiritual authority.
The diocese was founded byCharlemagne in 803, after he had conquered theSaxons. It was subordinate to theArchbishopric-Electorate of Cologne.
It became thePrince-Bishopric of Minden (German:Fürstbistum Minden) in 1180, when theDuchy of Saxony was dissolved.
As to the diocese of Minden, it ceased to exist following the Swedish takeover of 1648.
Prior to its dissolution, the diocesan area comprised, in addition to the temporal prince-bishopric, parts ofBrunswick-Wolfenbüttel and all of Schaumburg-Lippe. The defunct diocese came under the care of by theApostolic Vicariate of the Nordic Missions in 1667. Between 1709 and 1780 it formed part of theVicariate Apostolic of Upper and Lower Saxony, before it was reincorporated into the Nordic Missions. In 1821 the former Minden diocesan area within the former prince-bishopric boundary became part of theDiocese of Paderborn, whereas the Brunswickian part became part of theApostolic Vicariate of Anhalt and Brunswick in 1825, only to join theDiocese of Hildesheim in 1834. The Schaumburg-Lippe area stayed with the Nordic Missions until their dissolution in 1930, becoming first part of theDiocese of Osnabrück and then of Hildesheim as of 1965.
In the 16th century, theProtestant Reformation was starting to take hold in the state, under the influence of the Duchy ofBrunswick-Lüneburg. Minden was occupied bySweden in theThirty Years' War, and secularized. ThePeace of Westphalia of 1648 gave it to theMargraviate of Brandenburg as thePrincipality of Minden (German:Fürstentum Minden).
After 1719 Minden was administered byBrandenburg-Prussia together with the adjacentCounty of Ravensberg asMinden-Ravensberg. In 1807, it became part of theKingdom of Westphalia. In 1814, it returned to Prussia and became part of theProvince of Westphalia.
As of 1789, the principality had an area of 1,100 km2 (420 sq mi). It was bordered by (clockwise from the north): anexclave of the Landgraviate ofHesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), theElectorate of Hanover, the County ofSchaumburg-Lippe, another exclave of Hesse-Kassel, thePrincipality of Lippe, the County of Ravensberg, and thePrince-Bishopric of Osnabrück. Cities includedMinden andLübbecke.
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1 from 1648 2 until 1648 3 without seat inImperial Diet ? status uncertain Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon
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